First Day of School

I had my first day of Italian class today, and it went really well! I was a little nervous because I was coming into the second week of the class as my first, but I really like the people in my class and the teacher. The class is pretty small, 12 students. There are about 5 or 6 girls relatively close to my age, and they were all really cool and very welcoming. We all went to get coffee during the break and I think I'm going to enjoy getting to know them better. They are from all over- Australia, Budapest, Holland, Argentina. I'm the only American in the class. I am really excited about it, and I think I am going to learn a lot in the 4 weeks I signed up for.

Last week flew by and I had the weekend off, which was really nice to have time to myself, but still stay here in Rome. I stayed in on Friday night, exhausted after the week, and slept in Saturday morning. I spent all of Saturday afternoon walking around, turning down streets I'd never been down before (inspired by Meredith's blog entry) and just wandering. I have so enjoyed walking around by myself, stopping when I want to, and going wherever the little cobblestone alleyways take me. I also finally found the hotel where my mom and I stayed when we were in Rome. I stumbled upon the general area, and it is actually adjacent to the path I run to Villa Bourghese. It is on one of my very favorite streets (decided since I've been here recently) near Piazza Barberini, named Via Vittorio Veneto.

Saturday night, I did a pub crawl with my Australian friend, Rebecca. For those who don't know, pub crawls are pretty popular in Rome, and you basically just go from bar to bar with the same group of people and have drink specials, etc. Though I'm glad I went out and saw a bit of the nightlife, I feel pretty confident saying that that was probably my first and last pub crawl...not exactly my scene. But! I did give it a chance and had a good time with Rebecca at least. Sunday, I slept in (exhausted after my one night out!), and then met Rebecca for lunch at this great salad place that I plan on going back to all the time. I had a quiet afternoon- rented a movie on iTunes that I watched in bed.

I am already feeling a little bit of the pressure of having something to do everyday after having such wide open days for so long, especially since the class takes up most of my day (until 1:00, and I get the kids at 3:00). However, I am thrilled to have a routine. As much as I have enjoyed wandering, and could never run out of things to do in Rome, I was craving a tad more structure. I'm sure the week will fly by as I adjust to my new schedule. I have the weekend off; the family is going away to their beach house but gave me the time free so I could have a weekend to celebrate my birthday, since it's the following Tuesday. I'm hoping to go to Florence, but Meredith probably won't know until the end of the week whether or not she has off, so it will be a last minute decision- fine with me, I would be happy to stay in Rome, as well...maybe get together with some of the girls in my class. Shana told me yesterday that we will be going to Paris from October 23-29 because the kids have a week break from school. It is another home exchange, and I am really looking forward to it! So, not much else going on at the moment, but overall-- life is good...

Here are a few pictures I took of our hotel and Via Vittorio Veneto (mainly for you, Mom. Isn't it the yellow building to the left, at the top of the stairs? Yes..I was too lazy to walk all the way up there, which is why I'm unsure and both of the pictures are taken from the bottom!)

This picture doesn't really do the street justice at all, but it is so beautiful. It is fully lined with trees on both sides, and has chic restaurants that overflow onto the sidewalk. I absolutely love it.